Tag Archives: colorism

Last night, Oprah’s OWN Network aired “Light Girls,” a sequel to the documentary “Dark Girls,” and I saw a lot of conflict on Twitter from black men and black women – both with light and dark skin.

I think this doc had more depth than “Dark Girls,” and maybe that was Bill Duke learning from the predecessor, but it still felt frustrating to see what seems like more effort into giving depth to this documentary over the prior one. Continue reading →

Last year, Oprah’s TV network OWN aired “Dark Girls,” a documentary that explored the biases against black women of darker shades in their own community. I praised the documentary for bringing a normally inclusive issue to a broader audience. Looking back, I do wish it went more in depth on the different levels of impact colorism has, but there’s only so much one documentary can touch on.

Now, OWN will look at the other side of the spectrum with “Light Girls.” Featuring interviews with Essence Atkins, Tatyana Ali, Kym Whitley, Raven-Symoné, Amber Rose, Claudia Jordan and others. They’ll be discussing their own struggles, as well as the privileges they have – the latter of which I think is important and not acknowledged very much. I’ll be interested to see what stories are told and how.

You can look at the TV spot for the documentary, airing Monday, January 19 on OWN, below:

In the 1940s, psychologists published studies in which black children were given a white doll and a black doll. They were asked which one was pretty and good. Each time they picked the white doll. When asked which one was ugly and bad, they picked the black doll. CNN conducted a similar study decades later, and the results were very much the same. In the black community, colorism is very much a part of our culture. Dark Girls explores this on a deeper level, not just within the black community, but outside of it. The TV premiere aired last night on OWN, giving this cultural and social issue a broad platform. Continue reading →

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Aspiring journalist with an interest in telecommunications and a focus in media, pop culture, and the entertainment/film industry. Writing reviews, reports and conducting interviews since the age of 16.